If I Could Turn Back Time
by Crystallight-star13
Summary: AU. At the age of 25, Lucy has a successful career as a writer and journalist and a caring boyfriend. Natsu has a loving fiance and three year old daughter. Lucy hasn't seen or talked to Natsu since high school, nor does she want to. Running into him again, both are forced to confront their past and present emotions and each other. Rated M: mature content.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've been stumped with what to write for my other NaLu story, A Promise To Keep, currently as I've had a horrible case of writer's block and I started this to try to get ideas to flow again. This chapter isn't that long. Some may be long, some may not. I'm drawing on my past for this story a bit, so I apologize to anyone if this seems like something they've read before or if anyone thinks I'm copying someone else's idea. I may post another chapter or two by the end of the week as I'm on break, but I won't promise anything. And I apologize if the characters seem a little ooc; it is an alternate universe after all. I hope you enjoy!**

**I am not Mashima Hiro, therfore I do not own FT. I wish I did though.**

Chapter 1

_She stood in front of him, a few inches shorter, looking nervously at the ground. "I….."_

_"What is it?"_

_"I think…. I…. I love you." She glanced up at him quickly, before staring back at the ground._

_"Heh…" She heard his hand rustle his hair, through the silence as he looked at her. "I… I like you, too..."_

_Her stomach fluttered for a moment, before her heart slowly sank, killing off the butterflies. "But as a friend," she finished his sentence. "And you're with Lisanna." She turned quickly, not able to look at him in the face. Her pace quickened before she began to run, leaving him behind her._

_"Wait! Lucy!"_

She woke with a sudden jolt of energy through her whole body. Opening her eyes, she realized her head lay on the notebook in the middle of her desk, her pen still in her hand. She pulled herself up looking down at the open page. She sighed softly before sitting the pen down and closing the notebook.

Rubbing her eyes, she stood up and walked away from her desk. Loke would most likely be asleep by now as she wandered down the hall to the bedroom. The two had been living together for a year and a half and dating since their second year at university.

He lay sprawled across the bed, taking up half of her side along with his as she slowly opened the bedroom door. His golden brown hair shone in the moonlight streaming in through the open window. A white sheet lay across his back, covering up to his shoulder blades.

Lucy quietly moved into the room, changed into a tank top and shorts, then climbed into bed next to him. His arm felt warm against her cool skin. She covered herself up with the sheet, pulling a blanket up from the foot of the bed also before closing her eyes.

Her mind wandered through her day from the meeting with her editor to the dinner Loke had prepared for her, before resting on him, the boy she had been attempting to forget since high school. His unnaturally pink hair, along with his giant smile, ran on display behind her eyelids. She turned onto her right side, grabbing ahold of Loke's arm, attempting to send the image away.

Loke groaned slightly at her pull. He turned his head to face hers. "You okay?" He asked, opening his eyes, full of concern.

_It's only him again._ She nodded. "You didn't wake me…"

"You looked peaceful sleeping on your novel, as if you were dreaming about it." He turned over onto his side to face her, propping his head up in his left hand. _I know it's him._

She looked up at him. "Maybe I wanted to be woken up." _He's in my dreams again, and won't leave,_ she wanted to add, but that would only rile Loke up more. He had been a present factor in her life during their high school years and had been there for her when she had been indirectly rejected.

"Oh," he responded. He moved his right arm out of her grasp and caressed her side. _I'm sorry._ "Well, I'm awake now."

_Now make me forget him completely._ She moved her head next to his and kissed him as if in response, pulling him in towards her. His right hand moves deftly up towards her face, holding it for a moment to deepen their kiss. They both pulled back briefly for a moment, before continuing.

She moved her left hand up his arm, across his back, finally resting on his hip. His free hand moved behind her head, pressing her lips and his together. He pulled back for a moment to re-position his body directly over hers. She wiggled a little bit to position herself so she would be a bit more comfortable, her mind unraveling and only on one thing, Loke.

* * *

He lay in bed alone. The back of his head rested on his arms as his mind drifted towards her. Lately, she had been on his mind and he couldn't figure out why. He moved on, he had thought originally, but every single time her blonde hair and big brown eyes popped into his head, he began to doubt himself.

"Maybe…" Her warm smile filled his mind as he sighed.

"Maybe, what?" He looked towards the door to the master suite where his platinum blonde beauty stood, wearing her bathrobe. Her blue eyes looked on at him with curiosity. "You're going to tell me what you're thinking right?"

All thoughts of his childhood friend drifted away as Lisanna moved closer towards him, shedding the bathrobe to reveal a blue and white silk nightgown. "Maybe we won't be going to sleep as soon as we thought." He reached towards her, pulling her in. He kissed her, while her hands ruffled his pink hair.

She smiled. "How'd I know you'd say that?"


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own FT. I am not Mashima Hiro. I wish I did though.**

Chapter 2

Lucy sighed as she collapsed onto the couch. Her best friend sat across from her in what happened to be Levy's favorite chair. Levy would curl up with a good book and read for hours on end, completely ignoring her finance, when she had an afternoon free. If Lucy was over, she would have a book in tow also and they would relax in silence while reading, complaining to each other when they reached parts of extreme anxiety, but for right now, they were catching up and chatting as Levy had a graduate class to attend later in the evening.

Two coffees sat on the antique honey stained coffee table between the chairs. Levy reached for hers while asking, "What's wrong, Lu-chan?"

Lucy sighed again, grabbing an orange and blue pillow. "The meeting this morning was horrible. They want the finished version of my book by the end of March," she said as she hugged the pillow.

"You are close to being finished right?"

"I'm just stuck on the aftermath of the assassination."

Levy smiled. "I'm sure you'll figure out how to end it. It is partially a romance right?"

Lucy nodded. "It's just frustrating is all." She set the pillow down and reached for her own coffee. "So how are things going with you-know-who?"

"Oh… well the wedding planning is moving a lot slower than I was expecting."

"You know I'm here for a reason, right?" Lucy chuckled.

Levy nodded, motioning to the dining room table. Invitations almost completely covered the small table. "I still have to narrow down who we're going to invite."

"Ah."

"And you'll never guess who's also tying the knot soon."

"Don't tell me…" Lucy thought for a moment. "Erza?"

Levy shook her head. "Those two still don't want to admit that they're together yet."

"Gray?"

"Juvia's had the wedding planned since they first met back in middle school and he doesn't want that much of a commitment yet."

"Then I give up."

"Natsu."

"Really?" Lucy looked at Levy with slightly sad eyes, watching her nod in response. "That's not really shocking. They've been together for almost ten years now. I think…"

"It's not really shocking, but the fact that Lisanna was the one to propose was rather intriguing. It was all over Facebook yesterday."

Lucy sighed. "Well, they'll be happy together," she said as a matter-of-fact statement, causing Levy to drop the topic. She wanted to hear more, yet she didn't. Her emotions for Natsu were so conflicted that she had never wanted to confront them.

Levy pulled out her wedding planning book, to which Lucy pushed the man to the back of her mind to help her best friend with some more of the wedding planning. The wedding was coming up rather soon, a little over three months to be exact. Being the maid of honor, Lucy had offered to help Levy with whatever Gajeel would not help with. Today, they would be working on picking out the types of flowers for the bouquets and boutonnieres as Levy already had the flower shop picked out.

On the way home from Levy's, Lucy stopped by the park and sat down on a bench. The weather was beautiful for this time of year. An evening spring breeze rustled the trees, budding with leaves. She couldn't wait to see the cherry blossoms fall later that year. That was always her favorite part of the year, seeing the leaves change color and float along the wind as if the petals were pink butterflies. She could even remember the first time she had come to see them back in their first year of middle school. Natsu had been there with her…

_"Natsu! The trees look so beautiful here!"_

_His giant smile beamed back at her. "I knew you'd love it!"_

_She returned his smile. "It's just the thing I needed," she said softly as he pulled her down the path to a bench._

Her mother had passed away the previous fall from cancer. Her father, she knew, was attempting to be a good father. He just didn't know how to cope with the loss of Layla and threw himself at his work, leaving Lucy alone for most of the time. Natsu had been the one to help her through that and come to be able to talk with her father again, like father and daughter. She sighed to herself at the thought of this, as the sun set on the horizon.

When there was only a soft orange/blue glow on the horizon, Lucy stood up and stretched, before hearing a loud "Oompf" from nearby. It wasn't uncommon for middle schoolers to climb trees this time of year, especially after school was out. She and her friends had done that as kids. This was the perfect place to watch the sunset at after all.

As she approached the bush the person had fallen into, she heard an "ow". The voice was deeper than she expected. _Probably some college student back in town for spring break_, she thought to herself. As she walked closer, she noticed he wore a black jacket with the hood up, his back to her. His jeans appeared to be torn at the knee, probably from when he fell. He couldn't be older than her; college age had to be right.

"Excuse me. Are you okay?" Lucy stopped at the edge of the bush.

"Yeah…" The man stood up. He turned towards her, his pink hair showing first. "Thanks for ask…"

The two stood there, staring at each other, eyes locked. Both sets of eyes grew wide. His eyes gleamed with a happy surprise, while hers… hers were wide with shock. Her body stood frozen, as if time had slowed to a stop.

**A/N: So... That whole time slowing down thing actually did happen to me once. It was rather weird as I had thought that feeling only happened in books and movies. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! I hope to have the next chapter up in a week or two! 3 Have a good evening!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own FT. I wish I did. R&amp;R always welcome.**

Chapter 3

She stood in front of him, her big brown eyes filled with dread, her body frozen as if time had stopped while he locked eyes with her. Her blonde hair fell past shoulders to her waist with ripples hinting that her hair had been up in a bun earlier in the day. He smiled slightly before glancing away.

"I guess I'm not the person you expected to see here, huh?" He asked, his voice rather rough.

"I... Uh... Just wanted to make sure the person who fell out of the tree was alright." She responded.

He looked back up at her. A necklace lay around her neck, with a fairy charm. She wore a casual yet dress-to-impress outfit consisting of a black pencil skirt, lovely white blouse with lace around the edges, a blue designer coat, and black high heels, roughly 1.5 inches he judged. She also carried a satchel, most likely containing some manuscript she had been working on.

Not hearing a response from Natsu, Lucy continued, "You're alright, so I'll be on my way now." She turned quickly, heading back the way she came.

"Lu, wait." He caught up to her, keeping up with her brisk pace. "I'd like to talk to you." He set his left hand on her right shoulder.

She brushed it off, turning towards him. "What makes you think I want to talk to you?" She said quietly.

"I..." Taken aback by the bitterness in her tone, he let his hand drop to his side. He had known she would be angry with him, after what had happened back in high school, but he didn't think she would have held onto her anger this much. "I'm sorry."

"Apologies mean nothing to me..." She turned again, walking away.

He watched her from behind, just like he had that day, expect that time she had run away. Now she walked casually, yet her posture gave away her confused and hurt emotions and he wasn't going to let her get away this time.

"Lucy, please." He watched her stop, but she didn't turn around. "At least let me buy you a coffee so we can talk, and then you can decide whether you still hate me or not."

Taking a moment to think, she turned around and nodded. "Sounds fine, I guess."

They walked in silence towards a little mom-and-pop cafe next to the entrance to the park. His eyes flittered around her body processing her changed features since the last time he saw her, at their high school graduation. Her chest hadn't changed much, still as big as ever. What had changed was how fit she had become. He could see through her clothes that she had been exercising these past years, probably keeping fit in order to maintain a constant flow of ideas for her novels.

He read all of them, but the novel that held the most precedent in his mind was her debut novel. He had read it when it had first come out four years ago. He had been so proud, yet he hadn't been able to confess to anyone that he had read it. It wasn't like he loved to read. The only reason he had read "When Thorns Meet Flowers" was because she had written it and he had had the chance to read portions when they were still best friends. He couldn't admit that, not when he was with Lisanna.

He ordered her a vanilla bean frappuccino and himself a decaf, then joined her a table next to the window. The silence continued until they received their drinks. After taking a sip of his, he asked, "So how have you been?" Small talk seemed to be a good way to catch up, at least he thought so.

"I've been fine. Very busy." She replied. She wouldn't look him in the eyes.

"I noticed." He smiled. "I've read all of your novels and journal articles. You must travel quite a bit." Silence. "So what type of article are you working on right now?"

"I'm a freelance journalist so I don't write articles all the time."

_Look at me dammit._ He took another sip. "So, then you're finishing up your next novel?"

She looked up at him. _Finally_. Nodding, she took a drink of her frapp. She smiled slightly. "You remembered." Her voice was soft and quiet. None of the pain and anger moved through Natsu's ears, causing him to believe that it had subsided.

"Mhm. That was always your favorite."

Lucy sat looking into her drink for a moment, before looking "Why'd you want to talk to me?" she asked bluntly. "I don't even know why I agreed to this spur of the moment thing." The latter she mumbled to herself, yet he picked up exactly what she said.

"Lucy…" Feeling rather bold, he reached across the table taking one of her hands. "I've missed you."

Her eyes softened for a split moment before hardening again. "I can't." She pulled her hands back off the table and picked up her bag. "I can't do this." She stood up. He could see fear and frustration return to her eyes. "Thank you for the coffee, but I honestly should've declined." She left the cafe quickly, leaving the vanilla bean frapp behind on the table.

He didn't even have a moment to catch up to her. "Lucy…" His head dropped and he rested his forehead on his hands. "...I…" The rest of the sentence escaped his lips, except he couldn't hear them over the rush of thoughts in his head.

He sat there for a while before standing up, having finished his coffee. He grabbed the vanilla bean frappucino and left the cafe, shoulders slightly slumped, the thought of Lucy still on his mind.

**A/N: (I'm trying a new format for author's note.) I hope you enjoyed. I apologize if Natsu appears a little ooc. I'm trying to make him more mature here than in the anime/manga, but he'll still have his immature and rash moments. I mean, he fell out of a tree. I don't know many people older than middle school who climb trees personally. I'm actually able to write quite a bit faster than I thought. University isn't killing me currently, so I hope to have the next chapter out by next Wednesday at the latest. (I'm almost done with it anyway.) Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own FT. I wish I did, although I think I'd like to live in that world more.**

Chapter 4

_His pink hair rustled in the wind as they walked. She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes trying to understand why she had agreed to get coffee with him. Did she really want to catch up? Did she miss him that much? Or, could she just not turn down that face that had been her best friend for quite a long time? She didn't understand. Why had he even been in the tree in the first place? Had he been spying on her? She shook her head slightly. That couldn't be it. _There's no way_, she thought to herself. She would just have to ask the 25-year-old, more mature looking Natsu Dragneel._

She stared at herself in the mirror, mascara and eyeliner running down her face from the water she had just splashed on herself. Giving herself a long hard look, she scolded herself, "What do you think you were doing? You know what happened. How could you let yourself get coffee with him, or even talk with him for that matter? You know you never wanted to feel that way again."

_She glanced at him from across the table, like she had a thousand times in the past. They had stopped by this very cafe on the way home from school plenty of times, but that was years ago. Still, she couldn't get over the fact that he looked different. His hair was a bit longer and scruffier. From what she could tell, he looked like he worked out quite a bit, at least from his forearms when he had pushed up his sleeves. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable, but it was slightly… awkward. She didn't notice the awkwardness until he asked her how she had been._

She cleaned the makeup off her face completely before heading back into the bedroom. She had the whole bed to herself tonight, and for the next week for that matter. Loke was on a yearly trip out of country for business purposes, mainly a giant conference where he would have to attempt to get others to invest in his company and see what companies would be a good investment for them. He was the best at his job after all and quite a charmer.

Lucy sighed as she pulled the covers back on the bed. She wouldn't be able to sleep, she knew. Her mind would not stop reeling with confusion, her heart feeling emotions she hadn't felt in such a long time. Was it love? Angst? Depression? She couldn't decipher one from the other. She just knew she felt like a giant ball of confusion.

_The frappucino sat in front of her. Memories of previous times they had walked together through the park ending up at this cafe flooded her memory. "You remembered," she said, more for herself than for him to hear. She wanted to smile at him. She wanted this moment to never end. She didn't want to let him go. She still loved him and wanted to tell him. _He's engaged and you're happy with Loke, _the thought popped into her mind, bringing her back to reality._

"You're 25, Lucy Heartfilia. You're supposed to have gotten over him before you started dating Loke..." Silence. "But could I truly ever get over something like that? Like him?"

She already knew the answer to her own question. She couldn't get over him. She would never be over him, which was exactly why she had attempted to never come into contact with him again. That's why she had taken up freelancing instead of being a journalist for one specific paper. She could pick and choose what she wanted to report on and not have to worry about running into him ever.

_You still love him. Just admit it. You could never love another person the way you love him._ She couldn't deny her thoughts. "I do love him. "She admitted quietly to herself. "I'm such an idiot..." She buried her face into her pillow.

She and Natsu could never be together. He was engaged to Lisanna and she was with Loke. "There's no point," she told herself. "I can still love him all I want but that won't change a damn thing." She flipped over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. "I just have to keep moving forward." That was going to be hard though, especially if she ran into him again.

She lay for a long time staring up at the ceiling, before sitting up quickly. "I may have an idea." Jumping out of bed heading towards the office, she exclaimed to herself happily, "He may have actually given me an idea of how to end my novel."

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm honestly not sure how long any chapter will be as I'm more concerned about content that length. I am trying to get onto a posting schedule also as I am able to write two to three chapters a week. (You won't get all in one week. I'm thinking one, maybe two if I like the chapter after revising it enough.) ^(O.O)^ And, thank you for all your favs, follows, and comments so far. 3 You have no idea how much it means to me. ^_^ I hope you all have a wonderful day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Gomen! I meant to post this a week ago but I never got the chance with the end of semester approaching and ASTL just happened to fall on that weekend before. Gomen! My plan is to post on Mondays, but I may post on Fridays depending on how my weekends turn out. I may not be updating this story every week though. I'm trying to get rid of my writer's block for _A Promise To Keep. _I will do my best though! I really want to get this on a schedule! I hope you guys enjoy taking a peek into a more mature Natsu's... ah well. It's Natsu this week. Enjoy and feel free to R&amp;R!**

Chapter 5

_Lucy and Natsu sat on the L-shaped couch in her parent's basement. The room was her own personal entertainment room. The two soon-to-be-high-schoolers were currently playing each other at a fighting game. Lucy was winning and Natsu was not happy._

_"C'mon Luce… Just let me win once." He pounded the buttons trying to figure out moves to no avail as Lucy constantly kicked his ass._

_"Not until you learn how to actually play the game." Lucy laughed. She stared at the television. "You ready for my ultimate?"_

_His character was K.O.'d right in front of him before he got a chance to respond. He grabbed the controller from her hands and moved away from her. "Will you let me win this time?"_

_She stood up, her blonde hair flowing behind her as she attempted to get the controller, but even jumping up, she couldn't reach. "Give it back!" She laughed and complained at the same time. She jumped up a few more times, before losing her balance._

_The light coming through the small window dimmed as the two fell over, Natsu landing on top of Lucy. His hands were on either side of her head, her body in between his legs. She smiled up at him, slightly blushing. Why is she blushing?_

_He was suddenly aware of Levy sitting on the couch, not paying any mind to the two of them, totally enveloped in her book, which meant Gray was upstairs with Erza grabbing drinks and snacks. He stared into Lucy's eyes. They were drawing him in, enticing him to come closer, to drown himself in their warmth. He found his face barely an inch of hers, his eyes closing, ready to kiss her._

_BANG! The door to the stairwell opened with footsteps coming down. Natsu pulled back and sat next Lucy who looked slightly confused as Erza and Gray stepped down into the basement. Lucy stood up and moved over towards them, talking to them, grabbing a soda and tossing one to both Levy and himself._

_As Natsu stood up off the ground, he found himself in his school uniform in his freshman high school classroom. Lisanna stood in the back of the room talking to Lucy. He couldn't make out what they were saying but something was off when he saw Lucy glancing his way. The two were laughing, but Lucy's eyes didn't laugh with her like they always did._

_The scene melted to the park with Lucy sitting above him in a tree. He looked at her middle school self closely. "Please don't cry Luce."_

_She looked at him slowly. "It's just, the cherry blossom trees remind me of mom…"_

_He thought for a moment. "I have an idea I think you'll like, but you need to jump down first."_

_She nodded and jumped into his arms. She hugged him as tears fell. "It doesn't seem like three years have passed at all…" She sniffed._

_"I know." He pushed her back gently, then grabbed her hand, leading her towards her mother's grave with a picture and a beautiful bouquet of her mother's favorite flowers._

_"Thank you." She let go of his hand, clutching bouquet to her chest. Natsu stood a couple yards back, letting her have her and her mother have a moment to themselves._

_A cat rubbed up against his leg. As he knelt down to pet the cat, he suddenly noticed a bag that hadn't been leaning next to the wall beside him. It was Lucy's favorite backpack from high school. As he stood up, he noticed Lucy standing in front of him with her back still turned in the empty afternoon hallway._

_"What is it?" He heard himself say._

_She looked nervous, twiddling her fingers. "I think… I… I love you." She flashed her eyes at him briefly, but not long enough to see as smile appear on his face._

_"Heh…" He scratched the back of his head, happy that she had finally told him. Butterflies pierced his stomach as he bagan to respond. "I… I like you, too…" He paused for a split second._

_"But as a friend. And you're with Lisanna."_

_His heart sank, broke as she turned away without look at him, without seeing the pain across his face. As he began to speak, Lucy began to run from him, from what he wanted to tell her. He had wanted to tell her that he didn't just like her..._

_"Wait! Lucy!" The hall shrank before him as she ran farther from him. He walked… ran after her. Every step he took, she was a few steps farther. The hall stretched out in front of him, his hand reaching after her._

"Wait!" Natsu jolted upright, his hand outstretched towards nothing. He looked around his room in a frantic panic. He didn't see the blonde girl running from him. He didn't even see her bag against the wall. His eyes searched constantly until he realized he was alone in the apartment.

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath. He turned over towards the window and noticed for once that he could see the constellations. Canis minor shone brightly, one of her favorite constellations. He stared at it, smiling slightly. As he fell back to sleep only one phrase escaped his lips, one that he had never thought he'd ever feel enough emotion behind to change everything about his life.

"...I love you, Luce…"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It had been a few weeks since her encounter with the Natsu and Spring had officially begun. The cherry blossom trees had bloomed, leaving Lucy in awe of their beauty another year in a row. Thanks to Natsu, she had finished her novel, which was now with the editors. Today, she could relax and enjoy the cherry blossoms with Levy.

"Thanks for coming with me." Lucy smiled brightly.

"No problem! This wedding planning has been driving me insane lately." Levy smiled back. "Gajeel has been working full time lately too so it's pretty rough."

"That's alright though right?" They found a bench and sat down.

"Yup. It means we'll have enough money for the honeymoon." Levy stared down towards the pond a couple yards away from them.

"That will be a lot of fun."

They sat in silence for a while watching three ducks in the pond. They sat on the water until a little girl ran past them, holding a bag containing a few pieces of bread. Her hair was a light blonde, yet a natural red tint gave her hair a carnation pink glow in the bright sunlight. Her blue jacket was zipped up and the sleeves hinted that the jacket was a bit big for her. She wore skinny jeans and cute pink tennis shoes.

Lucy watched the little girl pull some pieces of bread out of her bag. She smiled as she watched her struggle a bit to pull out a piece and tear it up to feed the ducks. "So… have you told him?"

"No. I have something planned for the wedding about that." Levy turned towards Lucy. "You have yet to tell me about your encounter." She winked at Lucy.

"Oh how'd you know?"

"You were able to finish your novel. No one gives you ideas like he does."

"Damn," Lucy cursed under her breath. Her best friend knew her a little too well at times, and this was one.

"Come on. Tell me."

"Well, it wasn't like it had any meaning." Lucy looked away from Levy's gaze. "We just got coffee and I left."

"Mmmhmmmm, okay." Levy turned back towards the pond. "You still have feelings for him."

"I-I...do..." Lucy felt her face heat up, knowing the sudden shock that appeared on Levy's face.

After a long pause, Levy finally broke the silence. "I can't believe you just admitted something you've been denying for almost ten years."

"There's no point in not denying it. They'll be there whether I want them to be or not."

Levy nodded in response. "Man, we really have matured huh?"

"Mhm."

With her bag empty, the little girl ran back past the two the way she had come, yelling "Daddy!" Lucy smile softly.

"Well, shall we get lunch?" Levy asked.

"The usual place?"

"Sounds good."

As they stood up to leave, Lucy noticed the little girl running back towards the pond with a person in tow. The pink hair caused her to straighten a bit with surprise. She turned towards Levy, with a look that said "Do you know anything about this?"

Levy sighed slightly, looking back and forth between Lucy and Natsu with the little girl. "That's Natsu's daughter."

Lucy's eyes widened in shock as Natsu turned towards the two. His eyes grew wide with excitement. His smile radiated towards her as she turned towards Levy rapidly. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You wouldn't have taken it very well. I couldn't bring myself to tell you when you were so happy with Loke. I didn't want to ruin that."

Lucy turned back towards Natsu and the little girl, who looked at her with curious eyes. Her face quickly melted into a smile very similar to Natsu's. Lucy returned the little girl's smile.

"Lucy!" Natsu made his way towards the two best friends. "I want you to meet someone. I think she's already met Levy."

The little girl nodded in response.

Lucy smiled softly at the girl. She couldn't let her feelings show with the little girl around. "I'm Lucy. What's your name?"

Natsu lifted her off his shoulders and set her on her feet. She looked up at Lucy with her big blue eyes. "My name's Kairi." She blushed slightly.

Lucy knelt down to be on Kairi's level. "How old are you?"

She thought for a moment, looking up at Natsu before holding up three fingers.

"Three?" Lucy looked up at Natsu, who stood nodding in approval. As Lucy stood up, she said, "She's adorable."

Natsu smiled. "Thanks!"

"She looks just like you except for her hair and eyes."

He nodded in response. His eyes followed Kairi for a moment as she wandered back towards the pond, before turning back to Lucy. "Luce," he began.

"No. I'm with Loke. I'm happy with him. You're engaged to Lisanna and have a daughter."

"That's not what I wanted to ask you," he said giving her the look of annoyance. "I just wanted to ask how you've been."

"Oh," Lucy didn't know what to say as she had already jumped to her conclusion. "I'm fine. Loke and I are fine. We're content."

"Content…"

"Yeah. We're both focusing on our careers right now." It wasn't completely false. They had been putting their careers in front of their relationship for a while now as Lucy had been struggling with an ending and Loke had that major conference.

"As long as you're happy."

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. I had three weddings in a week span and was in one of them so I had a lot of stuff for that and then my bf and I broke up so... It's all good now. I've already got the next chapter written so all I have to do is revise and I should be back on schedule! Thanks for hanging in with me and I'm really sorry that this chapter took so long! 3**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Levy walked down the aisle, smiling brightly. Her blue knee-length dress flowing behind her. She looked over at Lucy, who took the practice bouquet consisting of carnations, roses, and sunflowers. Levy then turned towards Gajeel who was waiting patiently for her wearing a black polo and khakis.

Lucy smiled at the two. The rehearsal had been moving along fairly well over the past half an hour. They had managed to move through everything without a hitch. Gajeel had even gotten a chance to perform the song he would sing as the bridesmaids and Levy would walk down the aisle.

While she stood listening to the official gloss over the ceremony procedure for the following day, the aroma from the bouquet drifted towards her. The flowers were beautiful, but reminded her of something that had occurred only a few weeks prior.

"_I have to run to another conference so I won't be back until the wedding."_

"_What do you mean you won't be here until the wedding? What about our little vacation beforehand? You promised me that we would visit a hot spring before the festivities to spend some time with just us." Lucy frowned, setting her cup of coffee down on the table in front of her._

"_I know. I know. They didn't spring this on me until last minute."_

"_We haven't had any time together though the past few months…" _Even though we live with each other, _she thought the portion to herself._

"_I know. I'll make it up to you. Okay? I've already put my foot down that I'm going to take at least two weeks off and we're going to travel to a few places that I know you'll love. We'll even get to use the private jet."_

"_I… I don't know."_

_Loke walked over to her, grabbing her hand. "I promise like my life depends on it. I will have the two weeks after the wedding off."_

She had smiled and agreed, although hesitantly. Her new novel was coming along quite well, so she'd had plenty of time to spend with Loke, if he had time for her. She had been wondering though, ever since Natsu had asked her about how she had been doing a month ago.

_Natsu._ He stood on the other side of Levy and Gajeel, one of the groomsmen. They had smiled to each other before but now he appeared to be gazing at nothing. Who knew what he was thinking.

As the rehearsal drew to a close and the pre-wedding festivities began, Lucy found herself talking with Natsu. His features when talking about Kairi lit up. He couldn't stop talking about how bright of a child she was, much brighter than he was.

"You know," Lucy said, "I knew you'd be a great father."

He laughed. "I guess so. I never quite thought of kids until Lis approached me about it." The smile disappeared for a brief moment. "We were actually on the verge of breaking up when she told me. We found a way to make it work though."

Lucy smiled. "I'm really happy to know that you found a way to work things out. She deserved to have both her parents."

"I've talked about it with Lis and we think Kairi would love it if you'd watch her sometime. We have a lot of things to discuss and don't think Kairi should be there."

_About what? _"Sure." _What am I getting myself into?_ "I'm shocked though," she chuckled. "Since when are you willing to discuss things rationally? You're normally flying off the deep end with random ideas, pranks, and whatnot."

"Ah…" He scratched the back of his head. "I guess Kairi kind of did that."

Chuckling, she said, "You know, I'm sorry for my reaction in high school." She smiled softly, glancing around the room. "I really was too blind to be able to see anything going on around me other than what I wanted to see. There were a few things that I just didn't want to accept."

_Tears streamed down her face. A boy around her age sat next to her, wiping the tears off her face. "You'll stay with me right? Unlike Papa?"_

_He nodded. "I'll always keep you safe."_

Natsu nodded in response, not having words to say. She could tell he knew what she was talking about.

Lucy sighed. "Where has the time gone?" She spotted Levy standing by the exit, ready to break from the rehearsal dinner to the bachelorette party. "Well, looks like it's time to go. We have the wedding tomorrow and everyone has to be on their best behaviours right?"

Natsu nodded. "I'm not allowed to touch anything tomorrow."

"Because you still have a tendency to break things on accident." Smiling, she started walking towards Levy and the other bridesmaids.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"You haven't completely changed," she said, turning to look at him, smiling. "You're still yourself, Natsu. I still remember things about you."

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated for quite some time. I've finally reached the point where I'm just going to do quality over quantity, so I can't guarantee when I'll update next. I'm in my final year of engineering now so all I've pretty much been doing is school work. I do plan on finishing my stories and may post some one-shots or such as I find time. You can also keep up with me on le tumblr: tori-alexide. I've posted a few random one-shots on there also that haven't made it here yet. Thanks for reading and as always, if you have any ideas, feel free to message or post in a review. I love hearing what people think will happen or want to see. (I like to incorporate what others think sometimes into my writing :3 ) **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Gomenasai! For those of you still following me story, thank you so much. I have a lot of catching up to do with all of my fanfics. This is what I wrote before school grew to be such a time consumers. I hope you enjoy! R&amp;R. :) 3**

Chapter 8

_"Damn it!" He shouted. Loke stood a few feet away from him. "What do you mean Lucy doesn't want to talk to me?"_

_"She doesn't. She wants nothing to do with you. Her words, not mine." His sympathy reflected in his words._

_"She doesn't mean that. She'll come around. She'll listen."_

_"I don't think she wants to hear what you have to say."_

_"I didn't say anything about wanting to be with Lisanna. Hell, I didn't even know that Lucy liked me until she confessed and ran off."_

_"You're so dense aren't you?"_

_"How am I supposed to know what she's thinking?!"_

_Gray and Erza grabbed him as he reached towards Loke._

_"Fighting the messenger isn't going to solve anything, Natsu," Erza spoke softly._

_Loke turned away. "If I find out you've bothered her and she's in tears again, you'll pay."_

There she stood in tears, yet this time it was because of Loki. He felt the pillar against his back as he attempted to listen in, yet he couldn't hear what they were actually saying over the music inside the dance hall.

Levy and Gajeel's wedding had gone on without a hitch. He hadn't messed up anything, no fights, nothing. He and Lisanna had danced to quite a few songs. He drank a bit with Gray and Gajeel. He even managed to snag a dance with the bride himself although they mismatched. When he found a chance to talk with Lucy, Loki had asked her to dance again. Now he was here. She was crying, yet he couldn't figure out why. Maybe he'd had a few too many drinks knocking down his comprehension skills.

He walked away, not wanting to be found out. He couldn't help but think that he was intruding on something that he shouldn't be. He walked his way back into the party. It was pretty late at this point, most of the party had left. He noticed Levy talking with Gajeel in a hushed voice, probably about the baby. Her pregnancy had been announced during the reception in a response as to why she wasn't drinking.

There had been a huge thing with this. She had Lucy and

He walked over to the bar, asking the bartender for a shot of Fireball. Gray walked over to him, punching his shoulder slightly. "You should ask Lisanna to dance some more. She's waiting for you, Flamebrain."

"Oh yeah?" He didn't even retort back like he normally did.

"Yo, Natsu?"

He set the glass down on the bar. "I really should ask her to dance with me shouldn't I?" He stood up and walked towards Lisanna, leaving Gray astonished by what he saw.

Lisanna grinned at him. "You know this is a wonderful slow song to dance to right?"

Natsu grinned and nodded. "Yeah. I really love this song. It brings back so many memories."

He took her hand and lead her out to the dance floor at the same time Lucy and Loke walked hand in hand back into the hall. The two couples began to slow dance, Lucy and Loke talking, while Lisanna lay her head on Natsu's shoulder.

"It's kind of melancholic, isn't it?"

_So stop time right here in the moonlight…_

"Yeah."

_...Cause I don't ever want to close my eyes._

His eyes caught Lucy's for a moment, her eyes sparkling in the light. Natsu nudged Lisanna's head which she lifted. Tears began to fall from Lisanna's face. "I-I'm sor…"

He kissed her, with Lucy looking away. "Things happen. You remember the day you met Igneel?"

_...With you I'm a beautiful mess._

Lisanna nodded. "You know, you're one of my best friends."

_...It's like we're standing hand in hand with all our fears up on the edge._

She smiled softly at him, a slight glimmer in her eyes.

He grinned at her. "You know it."

He let her rest her head on his shoulder again as they danced. He glanced towards Lucy again, her gaze at the floor around his feet before looking back at Loke.

_I'm just a sad song._

* * *

Lucy rapped on the door of Natsu's apartment door, her left hand in her jacket pocket. She took a step back, waiting patiently. From the other side of the door, she could hear someone speaking, followed by a brief cry of a little girl. Sounds like she doesn't want her parents to leave.

The door flew open, a slightly disheveled Natsu stood with his hand on the door. "Hi Lucy!" He grinned. "Thanks again for watching Kai."

Lucy giggled slightly, "Not a problem." Warily, she stepped into the main room of the apartment, Natsu closing the door behind her. "Is Lisanna here?"

"No. She's meeting me at the restaurant." He walked back towards the bedrooms, looking quickly into one, mentioning that the little girl's babysitter arrived. He then walked into his bedroom. "Feel free to make yourself at home," he shouted. "Kai is reading a book."

"Oh… Okay." Lucy set her purse down on the table next to the door. She looked around at the small apartment. A black couch with some chairs and a table behind it separated the kitchen from the living area. A flat screen sat along wall. A short hallway on the other side of the room led to the bathroom and the two bedrooms, which Natsu walked back down towards the door. "Your place is nice."

"Yeah. It's small, but convenient." Natsu picked up his jacket before standing at the door, his hand on the knob. "Kai's in her room, if you want to join her." He paused.

In that moment, Lucy took note of what he was wearing. He sported khaki pants, along with a blue polo, which contrasted against his salmon hair. His black jacket and shoes tied the look together. If only…

"Have a good evening. I should be back around ten."

Lucy nodded.

"See you." He shut the door behind him, leaving Lucy alone in the main room of his apartment.

She walked towards the door that was decorated with pink and orange flowers, most likely Kairi's room. Kai lay on her bed, a book lying in front of her.

Lucy walked into the room, and sat on the bed. Kairi looked up at Lucy before she could ask what the book was. Kairi flipped to the cover, and Lucy stared at the book. It was one of hers. The one she had published back in high school that not many people knew about. She had even signed Natsu's copy.

"Daddy didn't want me to read this, so I snuck it out of his room."

Lucy smiled softly at her. "It must be very precious to him then." She wanted to hide whatever emotion she was feeling.

Kairi held up the book for Lucy. "Can you read it to me? Too many big words."

"In a little while." Lucy grabbed the book with her left hand and set it on the side table.

Kairi noticed the ring on Lucy's finger. "Are you getting married?" she asked, her eyes wide.

Lucy nodded. "Mhm."

Kairi smiled at her, before getting off the bed and heading to the kitchen. Lucy followed behind a moment later.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_Lucy sat on Levy's armchair, her head in her hands. "I can't believe that I agree to watch Natsu's daughter, and right before Loke proposed, too…" Lucy shook her head. "What did I do?"_

_"Maybe because you want to reconcile with Natsu?" Levy asked._

_Lucy looked up. "Maybe… I mean," she said, "it's not like I never wanted my best friend back…" But he's not really my best friend anymore, is he? Lucy thought._

_"Lu-chan," Levy said, leaning back against the couch. "Are you sure you still don't have any real feelings for Natsu?"_

_"I don't think so…"_

_Gajeel walked into the room at this point in time. "May I say something?"_

_Both Lucy and Levy looked up at him. Lucy nodded, not really sure what Gajeel would say._

_"You've got a lot on your plate. You agreed on impulse. You were also fairly tipsy when you agreed. You tend to be a very open, but clingy person depending on who you're around." Gajeel paused for a moment waiting to see if she had anything to say. When she didn't respond, he continued. "You've never really wanted to be all over Loke, but with Natsu, you were restraining yourself that night. The way you look at the both of them is completely different. You and Loke has also been rocky for a few years now. It's been what, six months since you first ran into Natsu again? And our wedding was a month ago?"_

_Lucy nodded. "How much has Levy told you?"_

_"Levy isn't the only one I talk to. Natsu was one of my groomsmen after all."_

_Lucy started to bite the inside of her lip, wondering how much of what Gajeel said was true, and if it was true, maybe the timing on everything hadn't just been pure coincidence._

* * *

When the clock had chimed 10:30pm, Lucy began to wonder where Natsu was. He'd said he'd be home around 10, but that had come and gone. She's turned on the television, keeping the volume low even though she'd shut the door to Kairi's room.

Kairi had fallen asleep while Lucy was reading part of the book to her. Lucy had set her properly into her bed, before taking the book back to the master bedroom. It wasn't big, but looked like a decent enough size for two people to live in.

Sitting on the couch as the credits to a movie scrolled, Lucy grew aware that it was well past midnight as keys fumbled at the door. Lucy quickly moved to the door, opening it for a drunk Natsu to stumble into the room.

He looked up at her, smiling his stupid grin, before falling over onto the couch. "Sorry I'm late," he said.

"Not so loud. Kai is sleeping," Lucy responded, moving to grab her jacket off a kitchen chair.

"Mmmmm, you sh'ld stay," Natsu mumbled, "just a bit longer. In case Kai wakes up."

"She's a sweet girl." Lucy slid her jacket on. "I really should be going though." She walked towards the door of the apartment. Both leaving and staying felt awkward. She wasn't sure what to do.

"Lu-shy." Natsu sat up, staring towards the door, sadness lingering in his eyes.

Lucy had expected him to be loud and rambunctious, not quiet and sad. She sat down on the only other chair in the living room. "Is everything okay?"

"It's over." He shook his head, smiling the entire time. "Igneel's dead. You're getting married. Kairi…"

"It's okay." Lucy reached for his hand, careful not to make it seem like she was being anything more than sincere. Her ring glimmered in the light. "Do you want to talk about anything?" _Why the fuck am I asking this? Why am I not leaving?_ She stared at the engagement ring.

"Wha'sere to talk about? You don't want to talk. I'm shocked you even agreed to watch Kai."

"Levy talked me into it," Lucy mumbled.

"Of course she did."

Lucy pulled her hand back, standing up and not liking where his mind was going. "I really should be going. I have to work on my next novel before going to sleep still. Kairi seemed to love my first one. She's also out cold. We had quite a lot of fun."

"I'm sorry." She heard his voice from behind her as she walked towards her purse and the door.

"Don't worry about being later than you intended. You've got a lot on your plate."

"Not just about that."

Lucy turned to face him, the door at her back.

He was looking at her, locking eyes. "I'm sorry about high school, if I hurt you at all. I wanted to apologize for whatever I did wrong, but Loke wouldn't let me."

"Don't worry about it," she said, her hand on the door handle. _Loke didn't let him apologize?_

"No." His voice grew louder. "I never said I wanted to be with Lisanna. I wanted to ask you to our junior prom. I wanted to kiss you that one time in your parent's basement. I tried to catch you after you confessed and ran off. I wanted to tell you all of these things, and apologize for whatever Lisanna told you that wasn't true. I didn't know everything until this evening. We were all stupid and immature, and I…"

With each word that he had said, he'd stood up, moving closer to Lucy, until he was right in front of her. He had banged his fist on the door when he mentioned Lisanna a second time. The smell of hard liquor hit Lucy's nose, as she thought he was going to lean in to kiss her. Instead, he laid his head on her shoulder. After a moment of silence, Lucy asked, "Natsu?"

"I love you," Natsu mumbled.

Her eyes widened at those three words. Butterflies fluttered inside her. She let him remain where he was for a moment longer, before pushing him slightly back. "You should go to bed. I need to go home now."

Natsu nodded, his eyes drooping as Lucy helped him back to the couch.

Lucy quietly left, pulling out her phone and opening a message to Levy. "I need to know everything that happened in high school. I know you talked with Natsu then and still do. I need you to tell me everything you know. Don't worry. We'll have the whole gang there then," the message said. _The question is, will Natsu even remember what he told me tonight? I'm pretty sure he was beyond drunk._

**_A/N: Let me tell you, I have found so many plot holes that I am attempting to fix. This is what I get for posting rough draft versions of stories, but isn't that what most fanfictions are? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. If anything is unclear, please message me about that particular thing and I will attempt to clear it up. Thank you all for your reviews. I've really enjoyed writing this so far. If you want to find other writings by me that I don't post on ffnet, you can find me on tumblr: tori-alexide (not spoiler free). As always, have a wonderful morning/day/evening/night no matter what time you're reading this! 3 ^_^_**


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